chutiť / chýbať / patriť + Dative

Tastes Good, Is Missed and Belongs

Level 3

Chutí mi polievka (I like the soup), Chýbaš mi (I miss you) and Komu patrí tento kľúč? (Whose key is this?) all put the person in the dative.

How It Works

The thing is the subject. With chutiť (to taste good), chýbať (to be missing, to be missed) and patriť (to belong), what tastes good, what is missing or what belongs is the subject. The verb agrees with it. The person is in the dative, often a short pronoun such as mi, ti, mu, jej, nám, vám, im.

  • Chutí mi káva. I like the coffee. (káva is singular, so chutí)
  • Chutia mi halušky. I like halušky. (plural subject, so chutia)
  • Chýbaš mi. I miss you. (ty is the subject, so chýbaš)
  • Tá kniha patrí Petrovi. That book belongs to Peter.

chutiť. Use it for food and drink that you enjoy: Chutí ti? (Do you like it?) In the negative it can take an infinitive: Dnes mi nechutí jesť. (I don't feel like eating today.) Without a dative it says how something tastes: Polievka chutí slano. (The soup tastes salty.) Do not use chutnať for this. Chutnať means to taste or sample something, as in chutnať víno.

chýbať. With a dative it means that someone misses a person or lacks something: Chýbajú mi peniaze. (I'm short of money.) Without a dative it simply means to be absent: Kto dnes chýba? (Who is absent today?)

patriť. With a dative it means to belong to an owner: Komu patrí tento kľúč? With k, do or medzi it means to be part of a group or to go somewhere: Patrí k najlepším hráčom. (He is one of the best players.) Smeti patria do koša. (Rubbish goes in the bin.)

Past tense. The verb still agrees with the subject: Polievka mi chutila. Chýbal si mi. (I missed you, said to a man.) Páčiť sa works the same way.

Examples (6)

  1. Chutí mi táto polievka.

    I like this soup.

    Word by Word: Tastes to-me this soup.

    Polievka is the subject, so the verb is singular chutí.

  2. Chutia vám halušky?

    Do you like halušky?

    Word by Word: Taste to-you halušky?

    Halušky is plural, so the verb is chutia.

  3. Chýbaš mi.

    I miss you.

    Word by Word: You-are-missing to-me.

    The person who is missed is the subject; the person who misses is in the dative.

  4. Chýbajú mi dve eurá.

    I'm two euros short.

    Word by Word: Are-missing to-me two euros.

  5. Komu patrí tento kľúč?

    Whose key is this?

    Word by Word: To-whom belongs this key?

  6. Ten dom patrí mojim rodičom.

    That house belongs to my parents.

    Word by Word: That house belongs to-my parents.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the person the subject of chýbať, as in English "I miss you".

    Chýbam ťa.
    Chýbaš mi.

    Chýbam ťa does not mean anything. The person you miss is the subject (ty → chýbaš) and you are in the dative (mi).

  • Using chutnať for "to taste good".

    Chutná mi to.
    Chutí mi to.

    In Slovak the verb for liking the taste is chutiť. Chutnať means to taste or sample something, as in chutnať víno.

  • Leaving the verb singular with a plural subject.

    Chutí mi halušky.
    Chutia mi halušky.

    The verb agrees with the food, not with the person. Halušky is plural, so use chutia.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

chutiť / chýbať / patriť + DativeLevel 3Tastes Good, Is Missed and Belongs

Learn This First

Before Tastes Good, Is Missed and Belongs, learn Liking With páčiť sa. Like páčiť sa, these verbs put the experiencer in the dative.

Words in This Pattern

chutiťchýbaťpatriť